Exploring Prehispanic woodworking technologies in the isolated context of the Canary Islands: Innovative and adaptive responses

Project Information

WoodTRACES

Grant agreement ID: 101018095

DOI

10.3030/101018095

Project terminated on 30 June 2022

EC signature date 27 April 2021

Start date 1 September 2021

End date 31 August 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 203 149,44

EU contribution

€ 203 149,44

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITAT BASEL
Switzerland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - WoodTRACES (Exploring Prehispanic woodworking technologies in the isolated context of the Canary Islands: Innovative and adaptive responses)

Reporting period: 2021-09-01 to 2023-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The Canary Islands were first settled around the Era by Berber agropastoral populations from North Africa, thus representing the last and westernmost expansion of the Eurasian / Mediterranean farming package. These first farmers remained isolated in the archipelago until Europeans arrived in the 15th century CE. After their settling, they had to adapt to the local raw material availability, which lacked metal ores, and thus developed volcanic lithic technologies and woodcraft in an insular environment. Yet, how did this adaptation process succeed despite the lack of metal tools? Local adaptive processes in terms of social complexity and subsistence practices have been suggested for each island. However, organic materials have not been included in the archaeological discussion so far. Building on one of the richest geographical regions to present desiccated wooden artefacts, this project aimed to test the hypothesis that the study of woodworking technology can shed new light on the human adaptation process in response to the lack of metal tools and to the biogeographical differences between islands.

The specific objectives of the project were to:
1) Characterise the indigenous woodworking technology based on tool marks in desiccated wooden artefacts.
2) Determine the functionalities associated with wooden artefacts based on use-wear analysis.
3) Assess the adaptive responses of indigenous groups and the possible local differences due to isolation.

The information obtained from the tool-mark analyses of Canarian wooden artefacts has been key in contributing to the knowledge of the technological strategies adopted by the indigenous groups in contexts of isolation.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Although the project had to be shortened to 10 months, the objectives and tasks planned for the first year have been successfully achieved and even a large part of the activities planned for the second year of the grant have also been carried out.

The Fellow, Dr P. Vidal-Matutano, has achieved through this project an independent research career in the analysis of tool and wear traces in archaeological wooden artefacts. Through the first five work packages (WP), the project has made it possible to:

1) Ensure effective coordination and communication of the work plan throughout the duration of the action with financial and progress monitoring meetings.
2) Provide training to the Fellow in tool-mark and use-wear analysis on wooden artefacts as this approach has been rarely applied to desiccated wooden artefacts from non-metallurgical societies.
3) Test the application of 3D Scanning methods in desiccated archaeological artefacts and experimental wooden material.
4) Identify the raw material used (woody species) for woodworking activities on different islands.
5) Recognise the state of preservation of wooden artefacts stored in Canarian archaeological museums through taphonomy.
6) Carry out tool-mark analyses of Prehispanic wooden artefacts by setting up a protocol and database for this type of analyses.
7) Design an experimental programme and carry it out, obtaining the first reference collection in the Canary Islands of woodworking marks using volcanic lithic technologies and bone technology.
8) Communication and dissemination of preliminary results of the project among both the scientific community and the society.

The WoodTRACES project has applied a novel interdisciplinary approach based on archaeobotany, experimental archaeology, 3D scanning methods and tool-mark and wear analyses to study the process of production and usage of wooden artefacts by the first settlers of the Canarian archipelago. Although the duration of the project has been significantly reduced, the good planning and close work with the project collaborators has resulted in extensive archaeological and experimental data. The analysis of more than 100 wooden artefacts from different islands, including domestic and funerary contexts, revealed meaningful data regarding wood acquisition and woodworking technologies at different islands, involving a deep knowledge of plant availability and the physical and mechanical characteristics of taxa. Preliminary results indicate the existence of elements common to all islands (use of fire in woodworking activities, same manufacturing processes of specific elements, woodworking orientations and directions, specific characteristics of striae and accidents, etc.). Differences in accident features due to the involvement of different lithic technologies in woodworking activities on each island or to different techniques developed have also been identified. These first insights into woodworking activities and the technological strategies adopted by the indigenous groups of the Canary Islands are contributing enormously to the consolidation of a research line with great potential for the Canarian archipelago.

WoodTRACES has produced one Facebook / Twitter account with regular updates on the tasks being completed by the project, conference or workshop talks and posters presenting the project to different audiences, the coordination of a charcoal analysis workshop at the HI with the participation of undergraduate and graduate students and participation at public events such as the MacaroNight 2021. Several public talks, oral communications and papers are in preparation or planned for the coming months.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

WoodTRACES was the first research project aimed at increasing our knowledge of the technological strategies adopted by the indigenous groups to develop woodworking activities in contexts of isolation. The advancement of new knowledge regarding this unparalleled issue has provided meaningful data about human innovation / resilience in contexts of isolation and sudden reduction of technological optionality with high potential for future applications in other oceanic islands. Considering that the wide development of archaeobotanical analyses in the Canary Islands focused on seeds and charcoal, research dealing with the exceptional desiccated wooden artefacts allowed obtaining innovative and high-quality data.

The main strength of WoodTRACES relied on the fact that it focused on woodcraft technologies developed in contexts of isolation with no metal ores. Thus, it offered a unique opportunity to address the important but poorly understood question of how North-African populations arriving to the Canary Islands adapted their technological skills (metal tools) to the new environment (volcanic rocks and unknown woody species). WoodTRACES pioneered the interdisciplinary analyses of desiccated wooden remains, fostering the integration of different disciplines (archaeobotany, taphonomy, lithic technology, marks and wear traces and experimental archaeology) and methods (e.g. 3D scanning, electron microscopy) regularly applied in waterlogged wooden remains but not yet systematically implemented in the less preserved desiccated remains.

Wood from a Prehispanic container observed under the SEM © Paloma Vidal Matutano

Tool marks observed in a wooden artefact from the Canary Islands © Paloma Vidal Matutano